How to Support Weight Gain in Infants
During a baby’s first year of life, growth spurts can be expected at 2-3 weeks of age, 6 weeks of age, 3 months of age, and 6 months of age (WIC Breastfeeding Support, n.d.). However, every baby is different and these growth spurts may vary. This blog post will help answer the following questions:
How much breastmilk or formula does a baby typically drink?
When should I be concerned with weight and growth?
What are some strategies to promote weight gain?
How much breastmilk or formula does a baby typically drink?
Every baby is different and has different needs, so this reference guide does not apply to all. Please consult your doctor or pediatrician for regular weight checks to monitor proper growth.
When should I be concerned with weight and growth?
As mentioned previously, parents should have regular weight checks with their family doctor or pediatrician to monitor their baby’s weight and growth. Doctors will often plot their weights on a growth chart and based on their progress, your doctor should give you an update or let you know of any concerns.
I recommend parents ask for a copy of the growth chart at each update and ensure that your baby is following their own growth curve. What does this mean? For example, if your baby was born at around the 50th percentile, they should ideally follow the 50th percentile as they grow. Similarly, if your baby was born at a different percentile, they will likely follow that percentile. Proper growth can be impacted by medical conditions and the healthcare team may work with families on a nutrition plan for “catch up” growth if weight is affected.
At what point should you be concerned? If the doctor is concerned with weight or growth, that would be the time to seek out additional support (e.g., pediatric dietitian and/or pediatric occupational therapist). Additionally, you may benefit from additional support if you find your baby’s weight is trending further away from their growth curve and their percentile continues to drop. Having a baby scale at home to monitor weight can also be beneficial, especially if there are existing weight or growth concerns. When in doubt, consult a dietitian to help assess your baby’s overall nutrition and growth.
What are some strategies to promote weight gain?
If there are weight or growth concerns, your dietitian may discuss the following diet strategies with you and see what works best for your baby. Please seek a professional to help guide you with these strategies and do not try them on your own.
Increase overall feed volume
This is self-explanatory, but by increasing the amount of milk or formula daily will increase the amount of calories. If volume is a challenge, you can consider the next strategy.
Increase milk or formula concentration to provide more calories per volume
Breastmilk and formula can be fortified to a higher concentration. Regular or standard concentration is 20 kcal/oz or 0.68 kcal/mL. By increasing the concentration, the baby will consume more calories per volume. Your doctor or dietitian will provide a recipe for you to follow and you must monitor your baby’s tolerance to these concentrations. Higher recipe concentrations are available if required but must be done carefully and under supervision.
Encourage high calorie/energy foods (if applicable)
This only applies to babies who are already eating solids. Depending on their current intake, a dietitian may suggest some higher calorie foods or fluids to promote weight gain. This can be implemented in combination with the other strategies.
Regardless of which strategy you try, please monitor for any negative reactions. Monitor their weight to see if these strategies are helping. You may need ongoing support to see what works for your baby. Again, these strategies should be discussed with a healthcare professional, and a plan should be developed to tailor it to you and your baby’s needs. It’s important to remember that if something has worked for another baby, it may not work for yours. Always seek medical help if you have any concerns.
Written by: Cheryl Ching, MSc, RD
Reviewed by: Kristie Pun, MHSc, RD & Pauline Bakowski, MHSc, RD
Publication Date: October 11, 2024
Disclaimer: Our blog content is for general education purposes and may not be suitable for individual health conditions. Please see your health professional or book an appointment with one of our dietitians for personalized health recommendations.
References
WIC Breastfeeding Support. (n.d.). Cluster feeding and growth spurts. https://wicbreastfeeding.fns.usda.gov/cluster-feeding-and-growth-spurts#:~:text=Your%20baby%20will%20go%20through,happen%20at%20these%20exact%20times.
